CES 2013 – Preview

With the start of a New Year comes a great deal of excitement as to which cameras we might see arrive at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It has become a popular venue for camera manufacturers to showcase their latest technological innovations and we’re almost certain that 2013 will be no different from the norm.

To keep you right up to date with the news as it happens, What Digital Camera will be attending the show in Las Vegas between the 8th and 11th January. Don’t forget to add the website to your bookmarks page. You’ll then be able and check back to read all the news and visit the video pages for live interviews, as well as first-look reports on all the latest releases. Alternatively, make sure you visit our YouTube Channel where we’ll be posting all of our videos from the CES show.

To give you an early preview into what might be released at CES 2013, we’ve accumulated some gossip and feelings from rumour sites and various online forums.

CES 2013 Preview – Sony

Sony had an extremely busy 2012. Halfway through the year the RX100 arrived. Then there was the A99 and towards the end of the year the first full frame compact was born in the form of the Sony RX1 – a camera we’ve recently reviewed and can be found in the current What Digital Camera January issue.

Sony, much like Olympus, is rumoured to be launching only compact cameras at CES this year and there’s no talk of any CSCs or DSLTs. Which compact camera models Sony will be refreshing is yet to be known so we’ll have to be patient and wait to find out – presumably at a press conference on the 7th December when most of the manufacturers unveil their latest innovations to the press, a day before the show officially starts.

Rumours suggest Sony may refresh their compact range at CES this year. There are no talks however of the company releasing a new Compact System Camera or DSLT.

There has been very little talk of new lenses arriving for the NEX system so it could potentially be one of the quieter years for Sony at CES 2013.

CES 2013 Preview – Olympus

Olympus is about to launch a series of new compacts if you can accept that suggestions on various rumour websites are true. There are no indications of a new CSC on the horizon and instead it’s believed that Olympus has spent time developing its line-up of Tough waterproof compacts.

If rumours are true, Olympus may be about to launch a new flagship Tough compact at CES 2013.

The TG-1 has been the flagship compact in Olympus’s Tough range since May last year. Although it’s not old, its successor may be set to launch at CES. Presuming the new Tough camera has been improved; we’d expect it to be waterproof to greater depths and shockproof from greater heights. The Olympus Tough TG-1 was waterproof to 12m (40ft) and shockproof from a height of 2m (6.6ft). If we were to guess, we speculate the waterproof depth might be increased to 15m (50ft). There are also several suggestions that it may feature a faster lens.

CES 2013 Preview – Polaroid

Some interesting rumours have been circulating about Polaroid announcing an Android interchangeable lens camera at CES 2013. Very little factual information is known at present, but there are talks of it featuring a design that’s similar to the Nikon 1 J2.

There’s speculation that Polaroid’s interchangable lens camera may look similar to the Nikon 1 J2.

Other rumours speculate that it may feature an 18MP sensor and a 3.5in touchscreen display at the rear. If this compact system camera is to be made it raises the question of what lens mount the camera might use? It’s unlikely to feature an all-new lens mount, so maybe it’ll use the Nikon 1 mount.

As for the model name, there have been rumours that it could be labelled the IM1836.

CES 2013 Preview – Samsung

What could Samsung be unveiling at CES? Undoubtedly, there will be new TVs, tablets and smartphones, but what about their NX-series of cameras? Leaks on the internet suggest a new NX30 may be set to arrive, superseding the NX20. It wasn’t all that long ago that Samsung introduced the NX1000, NX210 and NX20, so is there really a likelihood that this is on the cards? There would be less than nine months between the NX20 and NX30 appearing if this was the case, so our feeling is that it won’t arrive at CES 2013 but possibly later in the year.

The Samsung NX20 was launched nine months ago. There’s speculation of an NX30 arriving at CES but we’re guessing it might arrive slightly later in 2013.

We do have our suspicions that Samsung may be set to launch something big at CES but we’re yet to put our finger on what it might be. There may be a few new lens additions to the NX series perhaps, but there are no rumours at present to support this inkling. In fact there aren’t many rumours on the various rumour sites at all regarding what cameras Samsung may be set to release. We could of course be barking up the wrong tree. We’ll just have to be patient and wait until the official press conference on the first day to bring you what’s new.

CES 2013 Preview – Panasonic

Over the last year we’ve seen Panasonic replace the G3 with the G5 and introduce the GH3 as its flagship CSC. This suggests the company may be looking at refreshing other areas of its CSC line-up. The Panasonic Lumix GF5 is less than a year old so we’re not anticipating a replacement of this model just yet; however the GX1 is now over a year old after it joined the G-series in November 2011.

The Panasonic Lumix GX1 is expected to be replaced in 2013. Rumours suggest Panasonic will be launching compacts at CES 2013, meaning we may have to wait slightly longer for a new G-series compact system camera to arrive.

Presumably if Panasonic were to refresh the GX1, the successor would be the Panasonic Lumix GX2? There’s talk that it could inherit a more responsive touchscreen, such as the one that made the Lumix GH3 such a pleasure to operate. There’s speculation the design could also be altered to make it even more comfortable to hold in the hand, but with the GF5 already having petite dimensions we’d expect it to be no smaller than what we’ve seen before and suitable for slotting into a jacket pocket or small travel bag. Don’t get too excited though. Panasonic’s CEO, Mr Kazuhiro Tsuga, who will present a keynote on 8th January at the CES show is expected to talk about camcorders, TVs and compact cameras. This suggests a new CSC will arrive slightly later at the CP+ show in Japan that’s held in late January.

Will this be the year that Panasonic jumps on the Wi-Fi wagon and starts to introduce wireless connectivity into more of its compacts? Who knows? Perhaps the company will make its own attempt at an Android camera that’s capable of posting directly to social media and supports a series of Panasonic enhancement apps? We’ll bring you the news on the 8th January as it arrives.

CES 2013 Preview – Fujifilm

With the price of Fujifilm’s X100 continuing to drop and with it being listed as ‘no longer available’ by some retailers, a replacement could well be on the way.

The X100 was launched back in 2010 at Photokina, but what would Fujifilm name the successor to its revolutionary X-Series camera? Maybe an X200? Maybe an X200s? Who knows – all we are aware of is that it’s rumoured by some to feature an X-Trans sensor, which first appeared in the X-Pro 1. Claimed to deliver the highest resolution and colour reproduction of any competing full frame sensor on the market, despite it being APS-C size, it’ll be interesting to find out what resolution a successor to the X100 would offer.

There’s talk that Fujifilm could be set to launch a successor to the X100 at CES 2013. The model name is expected to be the X200.

We’ll just have to wait and see if an X200 arrives at CES, but a few comments from users of the X100 suggest they’d like to see a faster and more accurate autofocus performance, a faster fixed lens, a longer-lasting battery and a closer minimum focus distance. Will Fujifilm apply any of these changes as a result of listening to its users? I guess it’s only a matter of days now before we find out.

CES 2013 Preview – Canon & Nikon

On the lead up to CES there have been lots of interesting talking points on rumour websites and forums as to which cameras might be unveiled. So what cameras can we expect and from whom?

Well, trawling the rumour websites suggests it’s not going to be a show for any major DSLR launches from Canon or Nikon. Both manufacturers had a huge year in 2012, with Canon launching no fewer than three full-frame DSLRs to the EOS range – the 1D X, 5D Mark III and 6D. Not one for staying out of the limelight, Nikon also released three full frame DSLRs. First there was the D4 in early 2012, then the D800 with its astonishing 36.3MP resolution and finally the cheapest and most affordable full frame DSLR currently on the market – the D600.

With these major launches last year, it suggests Canon and Nikon may decide to focus their attention on entry-level DSLRs this year, not forgetting the expansion of their compact system cameras. If rumours are to be believed, there’s talk of a Nikon 1 J3 and Nikon 1 S1 arriving at CES. If the J3 were to appear, it would arrive just four months ahead of the J2, which would be surprising. As for the Nikon 1 S1, this is rumoured to sit below the J2 and rumoured J3 with a very basic spec, although still compatible with Nikon 1 system lenses.

There are strong rumours to suggest Nikon may be getting ready to launch the Nikon 1 J3 at CES. There’s also talk of a Nikon 1 S1 arriving, which would sit beneath the J2 and J3, potentially making it the cheapest and most affordable Nikon 1 camera to date.

On the subject of lenses, there’s talk of Nikon possibly announcing the availability of two Nikon 1 lenses – the Nikkor 10-100mm f/4-5.6 and the Nikkor 6.7-13mm f/3.5-5.6. Of course both these lenses were first announced in October last year, but we’re yet to see any pre-production samples in the flesh.

For Canon users there’s no word of any camera releases at CES, but there are rumours of two new EF L-series lenses that could be on the way. Nothing is confirmed to date, but there’s speculation of an EF 35mm f/1.4L II and a EF 14-24mm f/2.8 L. If the latter were to be released it’ll make an interesting comparison up against Nikon’s 14-24mm f/2.8 – a lens that’s regarded as one of the finest wide-angle zooms available for full frame DSLRs today.

The EF 16-35mm f/2.8 has proven to be a popular wide-angle zoom for Canon full frame users. There’s talk of Canon releasing another L-Series wide angle zoom in the form of a EF 14-24mm f/2.8.

If these Canon lenses were to be released at CES 2013 we’d hope to lay hands on some pre-production samples and bring you a first-look report. Other than the lenses, we haven’t come across any talk of Canon renewing its PowerShot G-Series, but you may recall it was refreshed with the G15 back in September. The G1 X is now almost a year old and it’ll be interesting to see if Canon continues with this line now that the EOS-M system has been created.